A Small Wager
by Dr. Jeremiah
Summary: Jeremie and Yumi make a wager based around love, but is Jeremie able to fufill his part of the bargin? Fluff, Jerlita.


Whenever I do Jeremie fic, I always seem to swing to the extreme end of the self hate scale. Maybe it's just the way I see Jeremie, but I tried my best not to do that today. Also, I've been reading some manga pretty extensively lately, so if anime tropes start popping up, my apologies. I also like ungodly wealthy Jeremie, so there. :P Also, I recycle songs, so bite me.

Yumi and Ulrich were a bit of an enigma, decided Jeremie Belpois. They would argue and agonize over their feelings for each other, but flirt and tease all the same. If they truly loved each other, he mused; they would get over their lingering issues and ask each other out already. Not that Jeremie was any better, mind you, because he hadn't said a truly romantic word to Aelita yet, due to persistent fear of rejection. After all, the girl had only been truly alive for a year at best.

But still, Yumi was the brash, loud, and opinionated member of the group; she should have a little more confidence. Odd just wasn't normal, but even he had managed to find a steady relationship, with that Samantha girl. Jeremie and Aelita were on and off, never quite admitting anything, but at least they were pseudo-steady in their almost dating relationship. It seemed like Ulrich and Yumi would never admit their mutual attraction, instead flitting between short lived relationships, before agonizingly coming together again, for a short while, before their pride got in the way.

While musing on this strange dichotomy, Jeremie's phone began to buzz, and he pulled it from his pocket, wondering if an attack was under way. He should be able to tell when this happened, but his early warning software had been on the fritz lately, and he could not afford to monitor the Super Computer at all times. The suspicion that would generate was not worth the potential extra time. Instead, he found a simple message, from Yumi, asking him to meet her at the factory. It was flagged non urgent, so he didn't run, but he still moved with purpose, heading toward the hidden entrance that was such a large part of his life. As he descended toward the Super Computer's main chamber, he was met by Yumi, who clutched a rolled up sheet of paper in a somehow angry grip. She unfurled it with a snap, and shoved it in his face. It was a poster for Kadic's Christmas Formal.

"How in the world am I supposed to ask Ulrich to go with me?"

Yumi was annoyed and somewhat frustrated by the sound of things; and Jeremie could tell that telling her to just ask him was out of the question. Something told him that she wouldn't take that in the way he meant it, and that particular line of reasoning might just lead to bodily harm. Instead, he went for tact.

"Is there any reason he wouldn't want to go?"

"Of course not, I'm sure he wants to go too."

This wonderful piece of logic was quite mindboggling, and Jeremie forgot any of his tactful comments. Instead, he went straight for the comment he had been avoiding from the beginning.

"Yumi, are you telling me you want to go, and you know that Ulrich wants to go, but both of you are too stuck up to admit it?"

Yumi was halfway across the room in the blink of an eye, but as Jeremie's life passed before his eyes, she stopped, and her intense glare softened into something far more sinister.

"Alright Jeremie, if that's the case, when are you going to ask Aelita?"

Jeremie froze, knowing the Yumi had reached the only flaw in his argument. He sputtered for a moment, and Yumi seized the opportunity.

"How about a wager then?"

"A wager?" asked Jeremie nervously,

"Yes, a wager. I'll ask Ulrich, if and only if, you ask Aelita. No backing out, no excuses."

Jeremie decided to take one for the team. Hopefully, this would make the group more cohesive as a whole. At least, that was what he told himself. A small part of him, which he had locked away in a corner of his mind, was screaming in abject terror. Another part of him had just grown wings and flown up to cloud nine. Keeping a mostly blank face, he stuck his hand out, to seal the deal, so to speak. Yumi gripped his hand in a bonecrushing grip, and Jeremie's fate was sealed.

About a half an hour later, Jeremie was back in his room, wondering just what he had managed to get himself into. The dance was about a week away, and there was no way he could get up the courage to ask Aelita in that short time period. Still he had too, for the team. At least, that was what he told himself.

Two more days passed, and Jeremie was still staring down his deadline in the face of crippling shyness. Sitting in his dorm room, he decided to simply man up and do what he had to, when the door opened.

Aelita walked in from the hallway. She was dressed in light pink, satiny pajamas, and it appeared that she had just woken up. Jeremie looked at the clock, and gave a small start of surprise. Engrossed as he was in his own mental conflict, he had failed to realize the passing hours. It was Saturday morning, and Aelita skipped happily into his room, a bright smile on her face, and what appeared to be some form of pastry, possibly of the muffin family.

The girl had only been alive for a short while, but her child like wonder at the simplest of things never ceased to amaze the boy genius. In this case, she handed him the muffin, which she enthusiastically informed him was homemade. While meticulously taking apart the fluffy pastry, Jeremie wracked his brain for the proper words to say. Aelita seemed content to simply sit in silence, only broken by the creak of bedsprings when one of the pair adjusted their weight. However, once he had finished his breakfast, she pulled a folded up piece of paper from her pocket, and Jeremie immediately realized that it was all over. His suspicions were confirmed a moment later, when Aelita unfolded a dance advertisement. What took him completely by surprise however, was what came after. Aelita, her cheeks tinged pink from slight embarrassment, looked him dead in the eyes, staring for an almost awkward amount of time. Finally, she said,

"Jeremie, I would like you to go to the Christmas Formal with me? Yumi said it would be fun for us, and would 'deepen our relationship'"

"_Damn" _thought Jeremie_, "looks like Yumi is too clever for her own good, trying to trap me with this trickery._

He stared at the pinkette for a moment, lost in thought. Finally, he realized that the silence had grown awkward, and that he should respond. However, he tongue did not seem to be working, and it seemed that his limbs had frozen up as well.

Blast.

This often happened at the most inopportune moment, usually in regards to the pink haired girl. Nevertheless, he was Jeremie Belpois, a gentleman, and he would not leave the young lady so obviously desiring his affections, and (Jeremie admitted to himself,) whose affections he desired go without an answer. Through sheer force of will, he forced himself to respond, surprising himself with his smooth answer, which under the right circumstances (ergo, not these ones,) might even be considered suave.

"Miss Aelita Hopper, it would be my honor to accompany you to the Christmas Formal"

There, question answered, what more could go wrong?

Aelita bounced happily on the bed, before returning her gaze to Jeremie, with a slightly disconcerting expression. She asked another, even more dangerous question, in a guard loweringly adorable voice.

"In that case, I need a dress, and some other things, will you go shopping with me, please?

"_Damn"_ thought the Belpois boy, his last rational thought before the young genius was lost in the pinkette's eyes, which were also oddly sharp, as if some plan had just come to fruition. The two genii spoke for a while, making plans for what might actually be called a date, though both would deny it if asked.

It was only later when Aelita had exited Jeremie's room, did she murmur happily to herself.

"Phase One: Accomplished."

About ten minutes later, one Jeremie Belpois realized what had just happened, and completely shut down for the day, obsessively typing away, trying to regain some of his lost equilibrium.

The next day, Jeremie dressed himself, most of Saturday a blur. Despite this, he did know that he had somehow managed to secure a shopping trip with one Aelita Hopper, what some other tales might describe as his "one true love" Being of a fairly well to do family, he had pocket change to spare, and something told him that even if he had wanted to, he could spare no expense on making the upcoming formal the most fairytale, storybook, experience that Aelita would ever have. Though he was no knight in shining armor, Jeremie was fairly certain that he could make the experience one worth remembering.

The first stop on this trip was the girl's dormitory, where he would be picking up the girl of his dreams. After that, the tailor, who was a personal friend of the Belpois family. Jeremie was sure that if anyone could do what he had in mind, it would be Henri.

The pinkette was ready to go when Jeremie reached to dorm room, and they departed together, walking off the campus, and toward the nearby shopping district. On the way, they began to chit chat back and forth, and Jeremie found himself more at ease with Aelita then he had been in the months since she had been materialized. Almost unconsciously, they joined hands, and looking quite content, continued their walk down the cobbled street, the shops surrounding them lending the street a cozy atmosphere.

When they arrived at Henri's shop, Jeremie smiled, as he had called ahead, and asked Henri to do some of the preliminary work. When the pair stepped inside, Jeremie could not hold back a slight gasp of admiration for what Henri had accomplished. Jeremie's designs for himself were fairly simple, but Aelita's dress was already partially constructed, courtesy of the measurements that Jeremie possessed, as he had been the one responsible for materializing Aelita. Standing on a pair of mannequins, a tuxedo and a dress were being feverishly worked on by the small Frenchman. The man had a manic energy about him, and his two assistants were a whirl of fabric, shears, and measuring tools. He spun around upon hearing the bell ring, and swept toward the pair, slightly startling Aelita, who was unused to the boundless energy of the Frenchman, who was not much taller than Jeremie.

"Jeremie, my friend, it has been too long. I have been working like a madman, ever since I received your call. Your attire is complete, and the young lady's will be along soon. We must fit your tuxedo, so come with me."

The balding Frenchman pulled Jeremie along, behind him, showing little regard for personal space. Curious, Aelita followed, looking with interest at the tuxedo that was apparently Jeremie's. She turned the corner, and stopped dead, as the Frenchman placed Jeremie onto a fitting block, and almost literally ripped his clothing off, leaving him standing in socks and boxers. Aelita's face almost matched her hair, and a light stutter of embarrassment was all she could manage. Jeremie was paying more attention to his tailor, and less his surroundings, so after Aelita got over her initial shock, she gave Jeremie a once over, glad to see that his visits to the cardio center and weight room were starting to pay off. He would never be a muscular as Ulrich, or as toned as Odd, but he was no longer a pale, unfit recluse. Not that she minded, but she was glad that he looked so healthy.

She stopped staring, and turned to go, but only succeeded in walking straight into Henri's assistant, a large man who chuckled deeply from his broad chest at catching Aelita peeking. The other assistant, a slight female, though still taller than Aelita, followed, pushing another mannequin, this one with a shiny pink dress. Aelita seriously hoped that it was hers, even if she had no idea how she would be paying for it, having most of her wants and needs supplied by the school, or Lyoko Warriors.

However, Henri finally noticed her presence, and gestured to the female assistant. Within mere moments, Aelita's clothing was in a neat pile on the floor, and she shivered, standing on a pedestal, clad only in simple undergarments. Jeremie was simultaneously trying not to look at her, and attempting to take her in all at once as the assistants took final measurements. One hand partially across his face, Jeremie stuttered across the room, saying

"Aelita, I am so sorry. It has been years since I have seen Henri, and I had forgotten how abrupt he could be."

Aelita smiled at him hoping he would catch the expression during one of the moments when his curiosity overwhelmed him, and he peeked.

"It's alright Jeremie, at least your being a gentleman about this whole ordeal, and that tuxedo looks lovely."

The blond beamed, and Henri smiled at both of them, showing two rows of blinding white teeth. Aelita had been placed in a shell like garment, which afforded more modesty, as well as serving as the main body of her dress. The two assistants were like lightning, as they moved up and down and around, fitting and sewing various pieces of fabric to the shell. Aelita could already tell that this dress was one of a kind, and could not believe the extent the Jeremie was going. Phase Two might have to commence earlier then expected, but Aelita shook her head, blushing furiously at the thought.

After what seemed like a day and a half of fitting, they were finished, and Henri packaged their attire in heavy duty dry clean bags. However, before this happened, Aelita had been permitted to twirl around in the completed project, feeling like a fairytale princess the entire time. The dress was the color of a pink sunrise, to contrast nicely with the icy blue of Jeremie's tux. It was composed of a shimmery material, and over all the high neck and sinuous material gave her the appearance of a spring bird, just emerging from a nest of silk, to observe the cold and frosty patterns of ice present upon its mate, in this case Jeremie. While less flamboyant, the tux was a cold, icy blue, and Jeremie cut quite a figure, though Aelita blushed when she recalled the finely muscled figure beneath said coat.

"_Now,"_ thought the pinkette, "_how to go about initiating Phase Two, if not now, soon."_

However, with the dance on Wednesday, Aelita only had four days to wait, and she could be patient a while longer. After all, the blond haired boy had already agreed to go with her, so it was not like he could escape. Aelita smiled happily, her plan falling into place, and she slid her hand into Jeremie's, feeling him jump with surprise. Of course, that was what she loved about the boy, and she smiled even wider, relishing the obvious blush rising into his cheeks.

Jeremie, ever the gentleman, was leading her back to her dorm room, as it was well into the afternoon. Aelita was perfectly okay with this, as it gave her more time to plan the particulars of Phase Two. Once the pair arrived at the doorway of the Ladies Dorms, Aelita skipped up to the first step, drawing to eye level with Jeremie. She could feel a blush creeping up her neck, so to curb it before too much embarrassment set in, she initiated a spur of the moment, Phase One Point Five. Leaning forward, she gave Jeremie a quick peck on the cheek, before darting inside with a smile on her face and a twinkle in here eye.

Jeremie stared, just a mite confused at what had just happened, but in testament to his growing maturity, he let it go without any stuttering, though his face was turning a pink verging on purple. Turning on his heel, he began to make his way to his own room, slightly in a daze.

The morning came, as mornings are wont to do, and Jeremie was just stumbling into first period when his phone went off, showcasing an urgent message from the supercomputer. A Xana attack. Damn and double damn. Thumbing a certain button combo on his heavily modified phone, an urgent text was sent to each of the Lyoko warriors, each buzzing back with a quick confirmation. Using the tried and true "infirmary excuse" he excused himself from class, and began the quick sprint to the Factory. Meeting up with Ulrich and Aelita, and grabbed his skateboard, something he had recently gained proficiency in. running the usual gauntlet, he slammed into his Computer Chair, his fingers already starting up various programs and routines. At this point it was such a normal routine that it almost felt dull. Hearing Odd and Ulrich, he initialized their Virtualization programs, hearing the customary noise of the Scanner's hissing shut. Aelita's program finished a moment later, and the Lyoko Warriors, minus Yumi, flashed into Lyoko. Dead ahead, four Krabs, and a Megatank guarded a bright red Tower, and few Hornet circled. Jeremie relayed instructions to Odd, and the cat boy moved to shoot down Xana's air support. Ulrich went for the 'tank first, landing a lucky strike, and destroying the beast.

Aelita raced forward, her virtual chest heaving with exertion. The Krabs, and remaining Hornets moved to intercept, but by combined efforts, Odd and Ulrich thinned their numbers, leaving a single Krab between Aelita and the Tower. It's laser charging, Jeremie could see that neither of the boys would reach it in time, and seizing at the only plan that would offer any hope at all, he ordered her to jump. She sprang into the air, her virtual muscles straining to give her enough lift. The laser fired, just barely grazing her foot. It shaved off ten Lifepoints, but Aelita landed on the Krab's carapace, before springing off again, phasing through the Tower's walls. A few moments later, and the Tower was down, and the world was saved for another day. Slamming a finger down on the oversized enter key, Jeremie initiated a Return to the Past, sending them hurtling back to the beginning of the day.

The lunch bell rang, and Jeremie slid into his seat, pulling back a chair for Aelita, who stood beside him. Their finger's laced together; they stared at each other for a moment, and then turned to idle small talk. Unbeknownst to each other, each half of the pair gave Yumi a significant look, indicating with a sly gesture their laced hands. Yumi turned slightly pink, looking over at Ulrich, who was as clueless as ever.

The topic was of course the dance, and both Yumi and Ulrich lamented their lack of a date. Again, the genius pair shot the Japanese girl a significant look, and she finally caved, shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head. She turned to Ulrich, and glaring out the side of her eye at the beaming couple, blurted.

"Ulrich, will you go to the Formal with me?"

Ulrich turned a delightful red color at the sudden confession/request, which contrasted quite nicely with his olive green attire. His stammered reply came just in time for Odd to arrive, and state the obvious, leading to a twin death glare from both Ulrich and Yumi. Still, the two looked at each other bashfully, and with uncharacteristic shyness, linked hands. Aelita looked over at Jeremie, and simultaneously, they winked. As if by some signal, the entire cafeteria rose, and burst into applause. Yumi, mortified, ran from the room, with a bright red Ulrich in tow. Wolf whistles and catcalls followed them, and the pink and blue pair threw an arm around each other's shoulder, smiling at a plan well executed. Already very comfortable together, only one final obstacle stood in their way.

The Winter Formal. Know informally throughout Kadic as "the makeout extravaganza." It more than lived up to its reputation, and only the fact that the night was still young was saving the pinkette and the blond serious embarrassment. A combination of popular music and 80's era slow songs boomed over the speakers, inviting all attendee's to dance. Jeremie and Aelita had proved surprisingly adept on the dance floor, and after overcoming initial shyness, Jeremie in particular had shown a surprising tendency to get down with his bad self. Now however, the slow song, the bane and blessing of every young couple, was piping in through the speakers. The song in question, "Looks Like We Made It." Was a favorite of the blond boy, and he pulled a not really resisting Aelita onto the floor, hands finding hips, and her arms lacing around his neck. Truth be told, the boy was actually getting a bit taller, so they fit together perfectly, Aelita, being just the right height for Jeremie to look down into her eyes. They danced slowly together, Jeremie quite content to just look at the sweet pinkette. The first thing that he had noticed, after the stunning dress, was how she smelled. She smelled of cinnamon. It was a heady scent, and it was really, really, nice. Aelita looked up at him, but outside of the usual softness, there was again the slight sharpness, which (of course) Jeremie didn't notice. Staring into her eyes, well aware of their mesmerizing effect, it took Jeremie a moment to notice the soft brush of her lips against his, but when he did notice, he went weak at the knees, holding himself aloft by sheer force of will. Not content to just be the subject of her affections, Jeremie kissed back, dropping all barriers of shyness, simply happy to be alive. Aelita grinned into the kiss, thinking.

"_Phase Two, Complete"_

Lost in the sensation, it took the pair a moment to notice Yumi and Ulrich, who by sheer coincidence had decided that right then was the perfect moment for a kiss as well. Being the more public couple, they were attracting more attention, and Aelita grabbed Jeremie by the hand, leading him out of the dance hall, and up to the Dorm Rooms. They arrived in Aelita's dorm, which was quite pink. The fuchsia haired girl smiled, and crossed to the dresser. She pulled a satiny, pink nightshirt out, and to Jeremie's eternal embarrassment, began to strip down, out of her dress. Jeremie made a noise somewhere between how, what, and why, and Aelita giggled at him. She tossed him one of his light nightshirts, and a pair of pajama pants. Jeremie finally managed to choke out a question, something the lines of

"What are you doing?"

Aelita smirked, the hard light in her eyes back, and an almost predatory grin painted across her features.

"It's simple, Phase Three."

Jeremie had just enough presence of mind to run the Xana scanner app on his phone over her forehead before she tackled him. It beeped a negative, and Jeremie grinned, as he clapped once, dimming the lights with the dimmer he had built the month before. Immediately, he was smothered in a combination of pillow and pinkette. He was overwhelmed by the smell of cinnamon, and he caught the pinkette's lips with his own. His arms wrapped around Aelita, and he held her close, perfectly happy with his life. He had just enough time to wonder what Ulrich and Yumi were up to, when Aelita deepened the kiss, and he thought about nothing else but the girl in his arms for a good while after.

And fade to black…

I'm back ya'll, C&C appreciated, Leave Reviews to feed the starving author.


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